Alfre Woodard Is Jumping From 'Luke Cage' To 'The Lion King' To Play Simba's Mom

I'm an avid movie fan whose favorite movie ever is Back to the Future. I'm the type of person that if I like a TV show, I'll binge watch it

The queen of the jungle has arrived. Disney is currently hard at work on Jon Favreau's live-action The Lion King remake. The studio has assembled a solid cast so far — including Donald Glover as Simba and James Earl Jones returning as Mufasa — but there are still a few crucial players from the original story who are lacking a voice actor. Fortunately, that list just got shorter.

It's exciting to think that Simba will have Mariah Dillard and Darth Vader as parents! Can it get any cooler than that for a fictional lion? Probably not.

Jokes aside, I'm very excited to see what Woodard brings to the role. Sarabi is one of the movie's strongest characters. Being queen of the jungle, she held her head high when Scar killed her partner and took over her kingdom. Even after all of that, she never hesitated to put the ruthless lion in his place.

[Credit: Disney]

#AlfreWoodard is a talented actress. She can portray maternal affection and also turn the ruthless factor up to eleven in the blink of an eye, all traits necessary when portraying a lioness. We can't wait to hear her in the role when The Lion King claws its ways into theaters on July 19, 2019.

What do you think about Alfre Woodard joining The Lion King? Who's your favorite cast member so far? Let me know in the comments!